Both vehicles ended up sustaining major damage, and several of the young passengers received serious injuries. It could have been much, much worse, however.

Somebody could have died.

I will admit I don't know all the exact circumstances surrounding the collision. While an account was written in the newspaper, there was no report of which driver was at fault or whether any citation was issued.

Apparently, none was, despite the fact that the underage driver had a passenger that was not related to him in the vehicle at the time of the crash, obviously a violation of license restrictions.

Rumor has it, the officer who worked the scene was so "relieved there was no loss of life" he didn't see the need to ticket anyone.

I, too, am happy the injuries were not life-altering, though one of the students missed his chance to play football this past season due to the wreck. I was also thrilled to learn the boys involved were wearing their seat belts.

But, I think not issuing any citations when obviously there was a violation of the law sends a dangerous message to the rest of the driving community, a loud and clear message our local high school students couldn't help but hear.

As usual, the way I, as an adult, think and the way teenagers look at things don't necessarily match up, however.

The yearbook staff gave a survey about driving to nearly all the students at Hillsboro High School this fall. The results were occasionally surprising.

Of the just over 210 teens in grades nine through 12 participated in the canvass, 167 reported they had operated a motor vehicle illegally at least once in their lifetimes. Yet, 87 reported they had never received a warning nor a citation for a moving violation.

Seventeen said they had received a warning, but not a citation. Though they indicated more consistent enforcement of the laws would likely result in less illegal driving, the tally was only 117-99.

When the question was asked whether local law enforcement was too strict, too lax or on target, the tallies were 45, 63 and 103, respectively.

Concerning safety, 116 marked that they wore their seat belts every time they drove, 74 said they wore them most of the time, 15 marked rarely and eight claimed they never wore them.

Furthermore, 83 said they required their passengers to wear seat belts all the time, 74 most of the time, 15 rarely and 12 never.

Teens view drivers aged 16 to 20, their own group, as the worst on the roads (40 votes), while ages 70 and up and ages 14-15 tied for second with 32 tallies each.

When asked about the dangers of cell-phone use while driving, teens expressed clearly that operating a motor vehicle and a phone at the same time is at least somewhat distracting (162 votes), though only 45 said phones were a general distraction for drivers.

Overwhelmingly, however, students believed cell-phone use should remain legal (159-63).

A total of 87 teen drivers reported never using phones while operating vehicles, 72 said they used phones occasionally, and 26 agreed they used cell phones often while on the road.

They cited unsafe or unexpected road or weather conditions as the largest contributor to accidents (88 votes), while friends riding in the car (61) and operation of stereo equipment (60) came in at numbers two and three on the list.

A total of 95 students rated themselves adequate drivers, 89 said they were great drivers, and only three admitted they were poor drivers.

As far as accidents go, 138 teens reported they had never been in an accidents for which they were officially blamed, and 16 had been the causes of accidents that did not involve calling the police. Nineteen said they had been in accidents for which they were not responsible.

Finally, the survey showed teens are concerned about others driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol: 103 marked that it is a major concern, 82 said it was a moderate concern and 36 claimed it was not a concern at all.

While I doubt the survey was scientific-I'm not even sure what that means-it was certainly a window into what our local teens think about driving.

As adults, we worry whenever we send our children, grandchildren, students and friends out on the roads. We say silent prayers to enlist the help of guardian angels.

Is there anything else we can do?

How about setting good examples for them? I had occasion to stand for a while at the corner of Main and Grand recently. During the 30 minutes or so I was there, I observed a couple dozen cars approaching the intersection that is regulated by a four-way stop sign. Fewer than half a dozen actually came to a complete stop. And most of those drivers had to wait for another car.

In visiting with students who have failed driving tests for farm permits, several have told me they were flunked because they rolled through stop signs. Adult driving habits can and do influence future vehicle operators.

Another trouble spot is the way Hillsboro drivers enter a four-lane street such as "D" from a side street. Folks, didn't you learn in drivers' ed that you must enter the lane nearest you? Then, when the way is clear, you can signal and change lanes.

You do remember how to signal, don't you? I'm not so sure. I am sure, however, that you pull that lane stunt in Wichita, and you likely will be picking unsolicited car parts from the side and/or grill of your automobile.

Oh, and one other thing. People, when the sign says, "Illegal to cross double yellow lines," that means you are not supposed to turn from an eastbound direction into a diagonal parking spot on the west side of the street or vice versa.

It also means you are not authorized to back from a westbound diagonal slot into eastbound traffic. This also applies to northbound and southbound traffic. You may not have received a citation, but you certainly deserve one.

I don't claim to be a perfect driver, but I try to be a careful one. The best advice I can give young motor vehicle operators is to always assume the other driver is going to do the most asinine thing possible. That way you will be ready for anything.